Hawaii high court refuses to reconsider Superferry

The Associated Press

The Hawaii Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the state's motion to reconsider its ruling that shut down the Hawaii Superferry.

Gov. Linda Lingle's administration and Legislature had asked the court to reverse its decision that an environmental impact assessment should be completed before the Hawaii Superferry launched services in 2007.

The court on March 16 ruled that a state law that allowed the high-speed catamaran to operate was unconstitutional because it was written to specifically benefit the Superferry. The law allowed the Superferry to operate while a scaled-down environmental report was written.

The ruling led the Superferry suspending operations indefinitely.

Attorney Issac Hall, who represented the environmental groups that legally challenged the Superferry, said he was pleased with the court's decision not to revisit the case.

The Hawaii Superferry's only vessel, the Alakai, has returned to Mobile, Ala., where it was built, and its owner is seeking other uses for it.

The state is moving ahead with an environmental impact statement for the Superferry, and the company has said it may return to Hawaii after environmental reviews are finished and the legal cloud has evaporated.

The Alakai, which began service in 2007, was Hawaii's first passenger-vehicle transportation link between the major Hawaiian islands. It traveled between Oahu and Maui daily.